Perception on Whistleblowing on the Ethical Climate in the Workplace among Nurses in a Government Hospital

Abstract

Whistleblowing plays a critical role in ensuring ethical standards and patient safety within healthcare institutions. Nurses, being frontline providers, are in a vital position to report unethical behavior; however, their willingness to whistleblow is influenced by the prevailing ethical climate in the workplace. Despite increasing awareness of ethical concerns in nursing practice, limited studies in the Philippine context, particularly in government hospital settings, have investigated the relationship between nurses’ perceptions of whistleblowing and the ethical climate. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the nurses’ demographic profile, their perception of whistleblowing, and the ethical climate in a government hospital. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was utilized. Total enumeration sampling was employed, involving 151 staff nurses who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using two standardized instruments: the Whistleblowing Questionnaire adapted from Park et al. (2020) and the Ethical Climate Questionnaire adapted from Victor and Cullen (1988). Descriptive statistics summarized the levels of whistleblowing and ethical climate, while Pearson’s r and Chi-square tests assessed relationships among variables. Results revealed that nurses perceived a high level of both whistleblowing and ethical climate. Significant relationships were found between area of assignment and both variables. A moderate positive correlation was observed between whistleblowing perception and ethical climate. These findings affirm the relevance of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Ethical Climate Theory in understanding nurses’ ethical actions. To address these insights, a Whistleblowing and Ethical Climate Enhancement Plan was proposed.